Enjoying the Island Vibe in Enoshima

Before we finally said good bye to our long Silver Week vacation, my husband and I decided to go to Enoshima. It is an island near Kamakura. From Tokyo station, it took us about an hour to go there via Yokosuka Line. We first made a quick stop in Kamakura to visit the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura’s most important shrine as it was founded by the first shogun of the Kamakura government. From Kamakura station, we walked along Komachi-dori shopping street. This shopping street is very fascinating because of its different craft stores.

 

As we reached the shrine, it felt nostalgic to see the same old red tori-i (gate) that welcomes the guests. My first and last visit to this place was 5 years ago. A lot of changes happened but the tori-i and the bridge behind it were still the same.

 

We were fortunate that there was not much visitors when we were there. We were able to look around without the hassle of queuing or bumping to someone else. We first went to the main shrine then walked around to see the lily ponds and gardens.

 

 

On our way back to Kamakura station, we first queued in line to buy one of Kamakura’s delicacies: sausages! There was a small corner shop near the shrine selling freshly-grilled sausages to go. The queue was quite long, but we believe that here in Japan if local people are patiently queuing in front of a food stall or restaurant that means their food is great. And we were not wrong! The sausages were awesome!

 

Riding the Enoden going to Enoshima was also a good experience. We were able to see beautiful houses and gardens along the way as well as the beach. From Enoshima station we needed to walk a little further to the island. But the moment we got out of the station, we already felt the island vibe. Along the road leading to island were shops selling island souvenirs made of shells, floral clothes, rubber slippers, etc. We were also able to get a view of Mt. Fuji even though it was cloudy that day.

 

 

As we enter the island, more shops welcomed us until we reached the entrance of the Enoshima Shrine. We availed the One-day Enoshima Smart Pass which we bought at the ticket counter beside the entrance of the shrine. This gave us access to the escalators within the island and free entrance to the major sights except the Iwaya Caves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also fortunate that were able to see some Hawaiian performances while we wait in line going to the Lighthouse Observation Tower.

 

For our lunch, we had a crab burger from Il Chianti with a great view of the sea.

And to rest of tired feet from the day’s exploration, we made a quick stop at Enoshima beach before we went back to the station. Going home, we took the Shonan Monorail until Ofuna. I was so happy because I was finally able to get a good shot of the great Kannon.